Hello all im interested in what all it would take to build my electra into a twin turbo beast? It ironically doesn't have air so i got a bunch of real estate to occupy. What upgrades would need to be done and how extensive and expensive can this build be? Then what would it take to get that power planted, tranny rearend? I have a lead on a posi with 2.93s will this be sufficient. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thx
Hey there! Great stuff, glad you are considering a Turbo on your Buick! I think it is the best way to make KILLER torque for a street car. There are a bunch of us using the Burton Machine Turbo kits on our 350s. Burton also makes a kit for the 455 engines in the 70-72 Skylarks. The kit is aboyut $2000 and then most of us spend about $1500 in upgrading the fuel supply, carb, new exhaust, etc. If you buy a kit from Mark he does all the engineering and makes it easy to work with vs trying to engineer your own system.. Best of all his kits have great prices so it is VERY hard to do it your self for less even if you have the tools. I am not 100% sure it would fit your car however with some talking to Mark and some measurements it should not be hard to find out if it will fit without any mods. Your th400 should be fine, leave that alone... Sure a 2.93 possi would be fine. If you can not find a good rear, ready to sue then contact Monzaz on the board and he can set you up with parts for your rear. The compression ratio is low enough on your engine to run the turbos, no problem there.. Turbos work well with the stock camshaft as well so that is a plus! http://www.burtonmachine.com/ If you have any questions just PM me, I wrote a 3 part article that comes out this spring in Canadian Hot Rod all about the ins and outs of turbocharging. These articles are available on line if you prefer. The June 2012 Hot Rod Mag (us version) features the Buick 350 turbo kit and shows how it doubles the output of the engine. BTW, here is a 455 version of his kit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJJbp8teqaM
truthfully, I wouldnt worry about your rearend forthe timebeing as for your transmission i'd atleast get a trans go 1-2 shift kit(not reprogramming) and a decent sized trans cooler for a really good fuel system that wont burn up on the street or cause exsessive gas heatup/vapor lock.. you can't beat a fuelab prodigy pumpwith the electronic fuel pressure regulator! this is about the best setup for inline pump..the bestbeig an intank setup viaricksorvaporworks with the new camaropumpbut thats like 2400..
With enough money you can do anything! There its plenty of room forward of the engine, you may not beable to use factory overflow bottle and carbon canister etc.. But there is room in these big cars! Btw, i am pounding over 600hp and1000lbft through a 3.42 welded rear. It won't be an issue. Rebuild the trends to be a bit tougher though. Its cheap insurance and a proper converter will help greatly.. Lastly, enjoy the power and having to buy tires twice as often!
To keep the AC and costs down I would just have a muffler shop build the exhaust off the manifolds and to one side of the engine with a Y and then mount a flange to bolt on a single turbocharger. PM me for more info about this.
